[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]t was a quiet Sunday evening in Historic Filipinotown, and everything was closed down, but near the corner of Rosemont Avenue and Temple Boulevard, if you listened closely, you could hear live music. Down the street, in a small craftsman house that was recently sold and set for demolition, a band formed by the bassist of Sublime called Spray Allen, played an impromptu show hosted by Jackass star Bam Margera.
Inside the neon-lit, graffitied single-family home, mostly unmasked revelers demolished the house’s interior while Spray Allen played covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Misfits. The atmosphere was dangerously fun. Axes and hatchets went through walls that people on the other side blindly stood next to, bats sent pieces of kitchen cabinet through the air, there was a massive hole in the ceiling exposing insulation, and the ground was covered in a carpet of sheetrock dust and rubble. Amazingly, nobody got seriously injured (except for a man that reportedly broke their hand), but by the end of the night, almost everybody was covered in a fine white powder.
The performance was reportedly staged for a music video shoot for the band. While mayhem ensued, Margera paced through the interior of the house at a dizzying pace while holding a phone that never seemed to stop recording while other camera operators collected footage. Margera told his more than 2 million fans on Instagram to meet him at the house earlier in the night. The Jackass star was recently ousted from the latest feature film in the franchise series, reportedly after falling off the wagon. At one point towards the end of the night, Margera took a moment to pose for a photo with a group of fans. “Say fentanyl,” someone said as others took pictures and selfies.
The event was staged at one of the many early 20th century homes scooped up in the past few years by developers. Just a couple of doors down, a demolition sign hangs from another craftsman home. Across the street, townhouses at a new “luxury” development rent for more than $4,000 per month in a neighborhood where the median income is less than $30,000 per year and more than 95 percent of residents are renters.
According to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) online records, a demolition permit has been applied for but has not yet been issued for the addresses associated with the music video shoot. Permits show that the developer is proposing to build a new three-story duplex with a six-car garage. L.A. TACO reached out to an inspector with LADBS by phone and left a message but have not heard back from them.
Despite the name and plethora of late 19th and early 20th century homes, Historic Filipinotown is not considered a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ), a distinction that creates an extra layer of protection for historic homes. While some people applaud developers for taking single-family homes that cost over a million dollars and subdividing them into less expensive units, others feel that Historic Filipinotown is losing its history and criticize developers for not investing in more affordable housing options.
“I’m deeply troubled by the rash of demolitions of early 20th century homes in Historic Filipinotown and other low-income, majority-renter neighborhoods,” Historian and preservationist Kim Cooper told L.A. TACO a day after the music video shoot. “Whole neighborhoods are becoming unrecognizable, both in terms of the look of the buildings and of the people who live, work and shop there.”
“A demolition should only take place when a valid permit exists and be conducted in a professional manner that doesn’t expose the community to airborne toxins.”
04/17/2021 Update: Following our reporting, at least five code enforcement investigations were initiated by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. Four cases have been closed and one is apparently still under investigation. On April 17, 2021 workers were observed by L.A. TACO hauling a fence and other materials from 307 Roselake Avenue. Meanwhile, a mini-excavator was seen demolishing 252 North Rosemont Avenue.
